


Librarians on Walkabout

by lizziecrowe



Category: The Librarians (TV 2014)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-09
Updated: 2020-07-09
Packaged: 2021-03-04 18:55:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,251
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25171219
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lizziecrowe/pseuds/lizziecrowe
Summary: Jacob needs to let off some steam. Cassie isn't about to let him go alone. And she's not taking no for an answer. Hijinx ensue. Secrets come out. Feels are had. Happy ending, I promise. Lemons in Chapter 2.
Relationships: Cassandra Cillian/Jacob "Jake" Stone
Comments: 6
Kudos: 60





	Librarians on Walkabout

Jacob Stone sighed as he set a closed fist on the stuffed duffel next to him. He almost didn’t want to do this, but he knew there was nothing for it. This last case had hit too close to home. Mabel was…gone. She was gone, and there was nothing for it. Stone picked up his duffel as he grabbed his new hat. Jones had stol-given it to him to replace the one he’d lost the day this whole roller coaster began. And while Stone wasn’t comfortable with it being stolen, it was a fine hat. Black, just like he liked it. [Just like I feel, too, but what of that?]

He made his way through the annex, certain that Baird would be the only one awake at this hour. Even Jenkins wouldn’t be up for another hour or so. Seemed like Baird was always the one opening and closing this place. [Guardian in every way.]

The front door shut behind him with a satisfyingly final click. It’d been a while since he’d needed this kind of thing, but walkabout was good for you. Ever since he’d read about it while studying aboriginal history and art as a child, he’d seen the need for such an escape, even if only for a while. Lost in that thought, it wasn’t until he rounded the last corner to where his truck was parked that a skirt with white roses and the scent of jasmine caught his attention. Her smile was both shy and shaky. His duffel hit the pavement with a thud that startled her. [Good. Now we’re even.]

“What are you doing here, Cassandra?” She was leaned against the bed of his truck, the heel of one foot caught on the wheel well behind her.

“I could ask you the same question.”

“I’m taking a few days.”

“How long is a few days?”

“As long as it needs to be.” He brushed past her to toss his duffel in the bed of the truck, only to move it slightly when he noticed a red and black plaid suitcase was already there.

“And what’s this?”

“I didn’t know if you were coming back.”

“I am, Cassie, no worries about that.” He reached in for the suitcase, but froze when a deceptively delicate hand touched his arm.

“Stone, what is this? Really, what are you doing?”

“I need time, Cassie. These last couple cases have been….hard on me. Harder than I wanted them to be, and I need processing time. That’s all. Walkabout will do me good.”

“Walkabout? That can take months!” He smiled despite himself. Of course she knew what the term meant. How could she not?

“Depends on the person, and depends on what they need to find. Me, I’m going somewhere I know I can find what I need. Take a day to get there, a day to get back, and I’ll be there as long as I need. Once I’m done, I’ll be back.”

“You can’t know that.”

“Trust me; I know how this goes with me.” She tried not to flinch at his words. {Trust. Another conversation for another time.}

“At least tell me where you’re going.”

“And then you use the backdoor to come find me? Not a chance!” Stone paused a moment, trying to soften his words. This woman always seemed to wind him up something fierce. “Look, I appreciate the concern, but-”

“Let me come with you.” [Sorry, could you repeat that for those of us in the cheap seats?]

“Walkabout is done alone, darlin’. That’s kinda the point.”

“I need to know that you’re coming back.” She had that uncertain yet determined look that said she was about to stand her ground, damn the consequences. [O….kay.]

“Cassandra-”

“Think of me like an anchor scroll!”

Blink. Blink. “….a scroll.”

“It’s easy to get lost on a journey like this, even in your own head. Let me be there to tether you to the world. Remind you what you’re coming back to, and why you’re doing this to begin with.” How did she know him so well when he’d worked so hard to shut her out? Stone shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose to stave off his rising temper. He did not need this right now.

“No.” The word dropped out of his mouth like a door slamming shut.

“Fine, we’ll do this the hard way.” Her fists hit her hips and Stone knew he was in for something now. “I’ve been fishing through the annex, and Jenkins has a small assortment of artifacts here that he was experimenting on when the Library broke away. I found this.” She held up a shard of metal with just the tiniest bit of blackened time on it.

“A nail?”

“A coffin nail used to bury Saint Frances of Assisi. The nails are attracted to each other, and I planted one in your truck in a place where you will never find it. If you leave me here, I will go back inside to my new leyline map, drop this nail on it, and it will follow you wherever you go on that map. You can take me with you, or I can follow you once you get where you’re going.” [Damn it all, I’ve been had.] His head dropped to his chest, his ears burning more in resignation than in anger. He didn’t mind spark in a woman but this one was not to be gainsaid.

“All right, you win.”

“Really?!” How did she do that? Go from knight on a quest to schoolgirl getting the puppy she wanted for Christmas in the blink of an eye? [Wait, does that make me a puppy?]

“Yes, now get in before I change my mind.” But she was already prancing –prancing!- around the back of the truck to the other door. [Puppy. And why do I feel like I just got put on a leash?] Stone settled his duffel and climbed into the truck. As he put his seatbelt on, his hand connected with something very hot. Two somethings, in fact. A pair of insulated black coffee mugs.

“Cassie?” She looked down as if she just now remembered that anything was even there.

“Oh, I remembered you drink coffee in the morning, so I made some before I came out.” Before she…?

“It’s still hot.”

“I wangled a new cup for you. It maintains the original temperature of any liquid put into it for 30 minutes before cooling at a rate of 1.12 degrees every 9.42 minutes.” Of course she would.

“Didn’t take you for a coffee-drinker.” He took a sip and tried not to swoon. Italian roast dark enough to eclipse the sun and black as Iowa dirt.

“I’m not. I prefer tea in the morning.” He glanced over just in time to watch ruby red lips wrap around the lip of her cup, the tiny sound of pleasure she made in that first sip wrapped him up like an old pair of fleece boots. He cleared his throat as he started up the truck. Sweet lord, what had he gotten himself into?

~~~~~

Cassie sat back and watched the familiar pieces of Portland fade into the unfamiliar. A part of her still couldn’t believe that she’d managed it. She had been certain he would have swept her aside, even with her threatening him with the St. Francis nails. She just wished it hadn’t been necessary.

Stone bottled up everything. He ran so much more black and white than Baird had taken for granted. The Libros Fabula had been enlightening. Of course Stone was the huntsman. At one with the land and all that lived there, protector of the innocent, beholder of beauty. That was Stone from end to end. Ever since he’d started helping her with her visions, she’d been star struck. Someone who didn’t shy away from her or turn their back just because she had a fault. He’d stayed, even reached out to ground her.

But the Serpent Brotherhood had woven their tricks, and she fell for them. In so doing, she knew that Stone would never truly trust her again. No matter what Baird said, Stone didn’t have a turning radius. He had a railroad track that he ran on, straight lines and set paths. He’d tossed her off his path, and she could only tag along behind, never be a part of it.

Yet she owed him. He’d been there for her. Even after his trust of her was shattered, he never stopped helping her. And now he needed help. The nails had been a bit high-handed, but if there’s one thing Cassie knew well, it was isolation. Seclusion could be useful, but not in the state Stone was in. That kind of sequestered grieving could be dangerous, especially for someone who already bottled up everything like an overfull champaign bottle. When that cork finally punched the clock, it was going to be bad, way too much for someone to handle on their own, even someone as strong as Stone. Cassie smiled at that, wondering why it never occurred to her. What a perfect surname for someone like him. If it weren’t for the windstorm of Mabel Collins…

Cassie shifted in her seat. {No,} she thought solemnly, {don’t go there. This is not about jealousy.} But it was. Mabel had snuck behind Stone’s walls in mere minutes, and Cassie wondered if she herself had made a different choice, if she hadn’t let the Brotherhood in, would Stone have let her in as well?

But no, this would have to be enough. He hadn’t shut her out completely, and this would have to do. Having him as a friend was better than not having him in her life at all. Not having him would be awful, right up there with the stupid brain grape. Wow, when did the thought of losing Stone get that high on the list?

~~~~~

Stone kept his eyes on the road as best he could, creeping back into his own thoughts as much as possible even though his trip had taken a decided turn into left field. Damn her. Damn her for barging in on his solitude, and for using those damned coffin nails on him. Blackmail, he didn’t think she was capable of that. And worst of all, damn her for being right. This last case had been downright gut wrenching. He could still feel Mabel’s heartbeat fading away against his skin. Made him shiver just thinking about it. Mabel had hit him like a freight train. Educated, witty, quick, sly, she was incredible. She’d gotten deep fast, faster than anyone else he’d ever known. No, that wasn’t true. There was one other. And she was sitting in the seat next to him.

“Oh!” Stone looked over to see Cassie plastered to the window like a schoolgirl on a field trip. Outside, a herd of deer were running alongside the Columbia river. Of course, Cassie was a big city girl. Didn’t get much deer-watching in New York City. The herd shifted, and she giggled like a bubbling stream. Another shiver, this one from his scalp to the tips of his toes. Red-haired siren was doing it again. Just sitting there, she was…calming. And not so calming.

~~~~~

“So, how about something to eat?” Only a couple hours had passed, and yet the silence had softened the feel of time.

“Sounds great. I managed beverages but didn’t manage breakfast this morning.” As if by magic, as exit sign appeared just outside of Hood River. Alongside the usual fast food options, there was a blue and white tile.

“Maggie’s Place. Sounds good.” They pulled in to what looked like an old fashioned malt shop turned restaurant. Cassie couldn’t help grinning.

“Looks good, too.” They were greeted and seated by a young lady in classic capris and a tied up white shirt, complete with pin-up hair.

“Wow, this place is amazing. Reminds me of that diner we went to in Collins Falls-” Cassie stopped short, her stomach falling away. {Idiot! Why did I have to say that?!} Cassie braved a look at Stone, who in that moment looked like he’d been struck-

“So, what can I get you folks this morning?” Cassie had never been so grateful for a waitress in her whole life. She snatched up the menu and homed in on something reasonable. Cassie ordered a chicken salad sandwich while Stone ordered a burger. Ice waters and iced teas were on the table before Cassie dared speak again.

“I’m sorry. That was really insensitive.”

“Didn’t mean nothing by it.” Which was true. He just wished it didn’t hurt so damned much. But that wasn’t her fault. Stone watched as Cassie chewed her bottom lip, those big green eyes staring back like emeralds in porcelain. [Change the subject. NOW.] “Besides, I don’t see how you could order that chicken salad anyway.”

Blink. Blink. “Wait, what?”

“You can’t call it ‘chicken salad’ when it’s got walnuts and stuff in it. Chicken salad has four ingredients: chicken, mayo, celery, pepper. That’s it, none of this walnuts and apples and what have you.” Cassie smirked, taking up the challenge and grateful for the subject change.

“Only if you like boring! The walnuts and red grapes give it depth. And the dill seed! What about the dill seed?! Without it, it may as well be a tuna melt without the melt!” Cassie threw her hand up to the forehead in mock anguish, adoring the smile it brought to Stone’s face.

“Whatever.”

“Oh! How can you be such a connoisseur of art when your food is so plebian?!” [Oh, two can play that game.] Stone pushed out his chest and did his best Capt. Hammer impression.

“Plebian? How dare you criticize how I walk! Plebeians always have right of way!” Stone sat back to look at his handy work: Cassandra Killian cracking up. Her cheeks were almost as red as her hair when she finally calmed down enough to wipe her eyes. Wow, he hadn’t been able to play with someone like that in ages. Just let the puns go flying and not have to dumb them down for oil-riggers and farm-hands. He’d always been one for puns, but it was so rare that he could whip out his sense of humor and have anyone get it, especially not in person. [Well, there was one...] Stone’s face fell slightly, the sound of Mabel’s laugh echoing inside him, hollow and distant-

“All right, you two, break it up. Soup’s on.” Stone shook his head a moment, food appearing before him. He covered his uncomfortable moment with a sip of tea before tucking in. Best Cassie didn’t think she’d done something else wrong. That girl felt guilt like a dog that let the fox in the henhouse.

Cassie finished the first half of her meal and noticed a small dollop of chicken salad had escaped her sandwich. Seeing a chance for payback, she scooped it up on a fork, making sure it had a bit of grape and walnut, and held it out to Stone.

“Here. Indulge me.” Stone looked up from his charred yet juicy burger to see an outstretched hand holding a challenge. He took said challenge in hand, knowing full well that he loved chicken salad in nearly every incarnation, but he wouldn’t give her the satisfaction.

“Eh, it’s not bad.”

“I’ll bring you over to the dark side yet.” Stone smiled as he mixed mustard and ketchup on a corner of his plate, readying it for his fries. Cassie couldn’t help herself. “Although considering the witch’s brew of condiments you’re working on over there, I may not have to work too hard.”

“Promises, promises.” Cassie tucked in to the remainder of her sandwich, various pieces of her questioning that last remark.

“So, you gonna tell me where we’re going yet?” The clouds rolled back into Stone’s eyes like a storm ready to break.

“Nope.”

“Not even a hint?” He set down his now empty iced tea glass and regarded her a moment.

“A hint. Ok, we’re going to Montana.”

“Fair enough.” Cassie licked her finger before standing up. She looked around a moment before finding what she was looking for.

“Be right back.” Stone watched her as she trotted off to the ladies room. Her black leggings mercilessly hugged her curves, her bouncy walk drawing the hem of her skirt up not quite far enough to… Stone downed the remainder of his ice water in one gulp. [Whoa, boy. Down shift and ease it back. No good will come from that path.]

~~~~~

“Montana?!”

“Yes, Montana. He won’t give me anything beyond that, but we’re headed to Montana.”

“Cassandra, are you sure this is a good idea?” Cassie could hear how uncomfortable Baird was with this whole thing.

“Just make sure you keep the nail on the leyline map. It should follow us along our route and stop when we do. I don’t know if I’ll have cell service where we’re going.”

“It’s been following you, all right, but how will I know to have Jenkins fire up the backdoor if you need help?” Cassie couldn’t help but smile. {Guardian to the core.}

“We’ll be fine; I promise.”

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep, Cassie.”

“I’ll figure it out. Thanks, Eve.” Cassie headed back to their table, dropping enough cash for the bill and the tip off to the waitress before rounding the counter.

“Ready?”

“Yup, just gonna go handle the check.”

“Already done. Meet you outside.” And Stone was stuck again watching Cassie trot away in smug satisfaction. Stone tossed his napkin onto his empty plate. [This is going to be a long trip.]

Stone made his way outside and hopped back in the truck. Apparently, Cassie had also grabbed a pair of iced teas to go on her way out. [Not sure if I’m getting used to this or annoyed by it.] Cassie piped up when she noticed Stone staring at her.

“What? You didn’t expect to have to pay my way on this trip, did you? Anyway, how do you feel about Kansas? The band, not the state.” She held up ‘Two For The Show,’ one of Stone’s favorite albums. The mischief dancing across her face brought back that familiar shiver. [This is going to be a VERY long trip.]

~~~~~

“Welcome to Lolo Springs.”

“Wow, it’s beautiful.”

“It’s the town that time forgot, but thanks for lying.” Jacob pulled up in front of a general store. “Be right back.”

“Well, look what the cat dragged in. Jacob Stone, how the hell are ya, boy?” Jim Robins. Older than time and twice as ornery. He’d run this general store longer than Stone had been alive. And he hugged like an bear.

“Still walking, Jim. Here to pick up supplies before heading up to the cabin.”

“Un huh.” He look out over Jacob’s shoulder, and looked back knowingly. “On your own, there Jake?”

“Something like that.”

“That why you left that young thing in the truck, to keep folk from talking?”

“Something like that.”

“Well, I ain’t your pa, so I ain’t gonna tell him on ya.” Stone smirks, gathered canned soup and veggies, a few fresh things, brings out the two bags of groceries and puts them in the truck.

“All that for the two of us?”

“Said it yourself, no way of telling how long this will take. Better to be prepared.”

~~~~~

“It’s getting cold. And it’ll be dark in a couple hours.”

“I like it cold for this. Keeps me sharp.” He looked back, her concern open and gnawing at him. “I’ll be back by nightfall. Promise.”

Cassie turned back, not believing a word.

~~~~~

3 hours. He’d been out there for three hours. Cassie chewed her bottom lip. It was starting to get dark. What if he couldn’t find his way back in the dark? What if he couldn’t find shelter overnight? What if he’d fallen and he couldn’t get back?! The log on the hearth snapped, and Cassie nearly jumped out of her skins. {Enough of this.} Cassie pulled the black cookpot to the very edge of the fire so it could simmer. She pulled on boots and gloves and her warm hat before setting off into the woods in the direction she’d watched Stone head off in. Daunted only for a moment as the house slowly crept out of sight, she pushed on. Stone was out here somewhere, and she was going to find him.

~~~~~

Stone found his favorite overlook and plopped down on a rock. He let himself drift as the cold seemed to pulse around him, the forest breathing. Jacob rarely sought out his dream state, it was usually deep and unforgiving. But that’s what he needed. He let the dark overtake him, finding vague flashes of the library, question about artifacts, legends, Excalibur, images some direct memory, some imagined from research, rushing by. Musings about other famous pieces, like the Holy Grail, The hanging Gardens of Babylon…gardens, full of flowers, flower dresses, petals drifting through his fingers, scent of jasmine drifting past….

~~~~~

“Stone! Stone, where are you?” Cassie tromped through the woods, making a map of her path as she went. Even so, she unraveled one glove to tie bright red yarn around trees every time she turned a different way, marking her original position in regards to the tree. The map grew slowly, terrain filling in as she wound back and forth, until something didn’t quite add up. A rock that shouldn’t have been there given the trees. Thickly grown together, that rock would have impeded that growth. She made her way to it, grateful for the pun in her subconscious.

And sure enough, at the base of the largest tree in the grouping, overlooking a wide canyon through the trees, a familiar hat came into view.

~~~~~

“Stone!” Her voice seemed far away.

“C-Cas-s-s-sie?” Stone slumped to one side, almost like he was drunk. Cassie took off her remaining glove and felt his face. Cold as death. She pulled him to his feet, swinging one arm over her shoulders to help lift him. He was much heavier than he looked.

“We have to get you back quick!"

“’m fine. J-j-just…” Legs were stiff. Balance wasn’t bad, skin tingling now that it was moving. Fingers were stiff, too. [Damn, went too deep.] Shards of red drifted past. Tied to branches? Why would…

The cabin came into view, his eyes adjusting slowly to the light. Cassie guided him in, bypassing trying to get coats or boots off, instead opting the sit him in the chair next to the fire.

“I’m ok, you know,” He said slowly reaching down to his boots. His fingers were slow with the lacing, trying not to show how stiff and uncooperative they were, though the fire helped. And what smelled so good?

“My ass, Stone.” Cassie knelt down, finally able to get a good look at his face in the firelight. “Pupils partially dilated. Cheeks not frostbitten but too close for comfort. Your hands…” she took his hand suddenly, the shock snapping his mind back, “…are going to be fine. You need better gloves.” She stood and busied herself with the last of the dinner prep, mapping out the sporting goods stores she knew about in Portland to get him better gloves when they got home. {He’s fine. He’s fine. He’s here, he’s back, he’s going to be fine…} The familiar flutter of panic welled in her chest. {I could have lost him. I’m here to help him, and I could have lost him…}

[Off she goes, taking care of everyone else.] The bookworm, the math genius, the physics pro, and underneath it all, she was the most caring person he’d ever known. [Never know to look at her…]

No, that wasn’t quite true anymore. Ever since the Libros Fabula, he’d seen this side of her. Of course she’d been made into Prince Charming. She took up quests like any knight would. Honor but not for glory, justice but never vengeance. She’d have made Arthur himself proud considering the lengths she was willing to go to for those she cared for and even perfect strangers. Speaking of which…

“Wait. You caught a rabbit, cleaned it, and made stew? How long was I out there?” The ladle in Cassie’s hand shook a moment.

“3 hours, 27 minutes. Minute. First sexagesimal fraction, consequential leap second-” Stone took the ladle just before it slipped from her fingers- “ _pars minuta prima_ , universal prime symbol-”

“Cassie, look at me.” He took her hand as she tried to push what he could only fathom as numbers out of her vision.

“I can’t. Can't.... It’s not working this time! Time. Time space displacement. Faster than light paradox. I can’t, it just…” Jacob scooped up her flailing hands. This was different, something else…breathing. She was starting to hyperventilate. Panic attack on top of hallucination?! He pressed her hands to his chest as he stood in what he hoped was the direct path of her visions.

“Then don’t look. Close your eyes, and listen.” He watched her struggle to do so, but with a squeeze of his hand she managed. [That’s it, Cass. I gotcha.]

“Remember the other memory. There's always another memory. Where are you right now?” She could hear him breathing, hear them both breathing, in and out in waves, like…

“The ocean. I can smell the ocean.” Her eyes and nose relaxed as a grin crept across her face. Kicking over rocks in his chest as it went. “It’s summer. I’m 15, and we’re in North Carolina.” 15. Danger zone. [Please don’t let it be that day. Please don’t let it be that day. Whatever gods may exist in this universe, please don’t let it be _that day_!] “I’m walking up and down the beach with a bucket, picking up stranded starfish and crabs and minnows so I can dump them back into the surf.” Knight in shining metal pale. And simmering black cookpot, it seemed.

"Good, that's good, Cassie." He stroked her deceptively delicate fingers slowly, hoping the rhythm would help bring her back down.

She opened her eyes again, this time seeing him. “Thanks. Sorry.”

He let go of the breath he didn’t know he’d been holding. “For what? I’m the one who worried you.”

“You didn’t cause this, Stone.”

“I did this time.” Cassie’s fingertips played gently at the soft shirt and hard muscle under her hands. She stared barely able to breathe as Stone’s thumb rubbed back and forth against the back of her hand.…. 

[Let go. For god’s sake, I have to let go!] But he couldn’t. This little slip of a woman had run out into unknown woods and drug him back from the edge of hypothermia and madness. All while keeping the house ready for him to come home to. Home, now there was an idea. But she could have been hurt looking for him out there, or worse! There are wolves in these woods certain times of year! What if… Stone shook his head a moment as his eyes dropped to the joined hands. No, none of that. She was fine. Everything was fine, she was here, and….

“We…should probably...um…get to that soup….before it burns.” Stone sighed and looked up, the spell broken.

“Right.” Dinner was a curious parade of sound and smell and color. The bowl placed before him was filled near to the brim with tender rabbit meat and vegetables, all in a thick, rich broth that smelled spicy and sweet, and of everything Jacob had missed about this place since he was young. He was almost afraid to taste it, afraid his memory would be erased or not lived up to and ruin this feast for his other senses. But soon an empty stomach overcame his faint heart, and he took a bite.

His mouth danced. Her concoction sparkled across his tongue, a maze of tastes looping and curling as he chewed. His body seemed to rejoice at the feel of good food, far better than he would have made one his own. Before he knew it his bowl was clean, and he was looking across the table at soft, emerald eyes smiling at him, her own bowl still half-full.

“Glad you like my cooking,” she said as she spooned him out another, smaller bowlful. He took his time this time, savoring the meal as he had never done before. So many colors of tastes, so many smells and feelings. Even breathing felt new, the very air touched by her essence. He drifted a moment, caught in a vision of his aching arms suddenly full with her, keeping her safe… The thought came unbidden, and he pushed it down too late. He looked across the table to see Cassie chewing slowly, looking at him as if he had said something outrageous or rude.

But the moment passed, and they spoke of artifact hunts, Ezekial being…well, Ezekial, and they continued before the fireplace, comfortable in the evening air.

“My mama made these afghans. Made a new one each time we came up here. Said it was her way of remembering each trip.” He wrapped up Cassie in front of the fire before grabbing one for himself, the mountain chill still clinging to his bones.

“I would have liked to meet your mom. She sounds amazing.”

“She would have liked you. You would have charmed the pants off her, I can see it now.”

“Come on, Stone, you must have taken home enough girls to impress her.”

“Jacob.” The word fell between them like an olive branch. Stone looked up at her, a decision solidifying. “About 80% certain you just saved my life. Again. I think using my first name for the duration isn’t out of the question.”

“O-ok… Jacob.” Cassie smiled, and Jacob could feel that now familiar pull in his chest start tugging again. As if for the first time his eyes knew color, until that moment subjected to mere grey amongst the grey. Fingers, hands, arms itched mercilessly, needing to reach out and scoop up this strange spirit of light and sweetness and keep her for his own. Damn it, if he didn’t get his head on straight soon, he was going to do something everyone in this hemisphere was going to regret….

Her soft lips caressed her retrieved teacup obscenely, the warmth of it creeping into her face, her throat, the deep russet curls that hung about her like vines on a riverbed…Jacob took a hard swig of his own tea as he shifted in his chair.

“All right, it’s been a long day. What say we head to bed?”

“I like this plan.” Jacob stood and made his way to the hall closet. Out came sheets from plastic bags, still holding the bits of lavender buds that his mother insisted on putting in with the clean sheets. And boy did it ever help.

The familiar kids bedroom he’d had some of his greatest adventures out of seemed so minuscule, especially compared to the life he’ been dropped into recently. But in she swept, the suitcase popping open on the bed like a Mardi gras of skirts and tights. Cassie sorted things gently before she realized Stone hadn’t moved. {You asked for it.} she turned and positively minced back to the doorway. When he didn’t move, she tapped him gently on the nose. Jacob shook out of wherever his head was, bouncy curls and ruby lips filling his vision.

“Good night, Jacob.” Back she went, and Jacob actively wondered if this is what men felt in the presence of sirens.

[Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea.] And perhaps he could work harder to stop staring at her incredible ass…

He headed for the master bedroom, somehow still foreign to him even now. His father’s echo permeated this place. An awkward memory popped into his head of him holding a teddy bear, coming into this room after a nightmare, then his dad snuggling HIM up like a teddy bear to make him feel better. [Been a long time since he’s treated me like a human being...] Jacob shook his head, pulled out fresh linens, well somewhat fresh, and got settled in for the night.

~~~~~

_A bad night. Nightmare, much like he had as a child, but instead of being chased through the woods unendingly, he ends up at the end of Collins falls. He looks to a rocky outcropping just upriver and see Mabel._

__

__

“Mabel? How-” She turns to him, and in doing so slips off the cliff and falls.

_“MABEL!” He runs over to where she was, but the body he finds smashed on the rocks is Different. Torn flower dress, blood everywhere, her limbs at bad angles, a single drop of blood dripping from her mouth. He climbs down to her, her eyes lifeless as he picks up her limp body. “NOOOOO!”_

~~~~~

Cassie was startled awake by Stone shouting. She doesn’t even bothering throwing anything on over her tank top and sleep pants and raced into Stone’s room. He was tangled in covers, sweating and seems to be flailing at random, but she sees the pattern and slips in around his hands to get beside him.

She touched his arm, and he bolted up in bed. He looked like he’d seen a ghost. That or someone walked over his grave.

“Jacob?” Fear danced there with frantic need, a manic waltz. He looked at her, disbelieving the line between sleep and awake. He swung his legs over the edge of the bed and pulled Cassie into a tight hug, his face pressed into her neck and hair. He was saying something, his voice high and breathy and shaking, and she finally realized that he’s saying ‘Cassie’ over and over.

“Jacob, I’m here. I’m right here.” A tiny selfish part of her hoped this would never end, while the rest of her was trying to figure out what he needed.

“I can’t…” He held her tighter, making it harder to breathe, but she didn’t care. Cassie traced meaningless geometric shapes across Jacob’s bare back. He smelled like pine and woodfire and sleep. Was it wrong of her to know this place, this piece of him that seemed so reserved for someone special?

Warm. She’s so warm, not cold and bleeding on the rocks of that god forsaken place. Images of blood and dead eyes flashed across his mind, his hands shaking at the thought of it, even when he has the whole and safe Cassie right here. He didn’t know when the sob started, but by the time it hit he couldn’t stop the rest.

That first sob was a knife in her chest. She sunk a hand into his hair, holding him to her, rocking them both slowly.

“It wasn’t real, Jacob. Whatever you saw, it wasn’t real.” He moves into her touch wrapping her up all the tighter, feeling her breathe.

“You were dead.” The words were ash in his mouth, as dry and lifeless as.... “Collins Falls, you fell…on the rocks, and you…” It shouldn’t have sounded like confusion given voice. And it shouldn’t have sent her headlong into his chest, nestling herself against him, demanding he take from her what he needed. He clutched her shirt in his fists, her tank top revealing the bare skin he’d wanted so much to touch since she’d been possessed by that horrid Golden Apple. Needed to touch, needed to know this wasn’t a dream. But this was real. Warm and soft and smelling like the flowers she always wore. White rose and jasmine, skin just as pale and soft.

He could feel it in her heartbeat, pulsing soft and even beneath his touch. Something in it called to him, calming him as he went, beckoning him closer, close enough to lay his forehead to her neck and let it move his very being to her rhythm. Something in her voice, beyond the beauty of its words or the pull of its song brought the shattered glass shards of his mind to melting, melding back together into something more than it was before. Her scent harkened him to places he had never seen, layered in sensation he’d never imagined. He pulled away when he could catch his breath fully. “I’m so sorry, Cassie.” Jacob wiped at his face, grinding his palms into his cheeks as if to hide just a few tears.

“What?”

“I’m such a stubborn fool.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I lied to you, Cassie. I’ve been lying for so long.” He could see it so clearly now, almost like through a waterfall in the far-off jungles he’d seen in books so long ago. Those same thick curls flowed around her like a trickling spring of flame, taunting him as if he were a moth. A firebird’s child. He swallowed hard, ashamed at not seeing it before, but no matter now. His fingers itched for it, his hands aching to grasp and tangle, to be lost in those russet strands… “When we met, I blamed you for Flynn and for losing the library. But the truth is none of that was your fault, not really. The Brotherhood would have found a way to bring magic back even without the Crown.”

“Wh-why are you telling me this now?”

“Because I can’t lose you, too.” The catch in his voice was almost enough to forgive everything he’d ever said or done. Almost. “Mabel…” Cassie couldn’t hold back the hurt that name caused her, and she knew Stone saw it. Jacob sunk a hand into her hair, tilting her face back to see him. “She showed me what I really wanted, the kind of person I wanted. And when she died….it hurt. Felt like I lost a piece of myself.” Cassie started to pull back, but he pulled her back in. “No, Cassie, I need to say this.”

“Please. Don’t. I know how much you cared for Mabel, I get that, but I can’t….I can’t listen to this.” She pulled free and stood, making her way back into the main room, but Stone was right behind her.

“Cassie, please!” He caught her gently by the shoulder, and watching her slump at his touch felt like a kick to the gut. She stood in the doorway, her hair flowing from her low ponytail in slightly snarled wonderment, lit like a festival fire in the deep forests he’d seen in Germany not so long ago. He turned her to face him, and the words just spilled out.

“I didn’t lose that piece of me when Mabel died, Cass. I lost it in the Labyrinth with you.” She met his eyes, her own swimming with questions. “I was so angry. I’ve spent so much of my life keeping this part of me separate from everything else, and when I finally found someone I could share that with…”

“I understand.” {Yeah, you found Mabel. Good for you, Jacob. Good for fucking you.}

Blithe acceptance had never sounded so wounded. He pulled her in gently, holding her in the doorway. It hurt so much that she just stood there, resigned to be held but not to hold. “You yelled at me in the Labyrinth, and you were right. I was just too angry to see it. You didn’t have a choice in your life. You were just trying to survive, like I was back in Oklahoma. I survived by writing under pseudonyms and hiding on an oil rig. You lived every day knowing you were on borrowed time, and for just a moment you saw a way out, but you didn’t take it.”

“You showed me I didn’t have to hide.” [The one I search for every morning, just to see her smile.] “You never let me doubt.” [The one I reach for in every moment of crisis because I have to know she’s safe.] “Every problem we solved, every clue we found, every day you showed me there was so much more.” A breath, and in that moment, a decision.

“Cassandra, I forgave you a long time ago. I was just too pigheaded to say it until now.” Her smile was one he could not place, soft lips crying out to be kissed and obeyed, adored and feared. No, not her. Never her. He could never fear this wondrous fae creature any more than he could stop the words tumbling out of his face. “I don’t know how long it’s going to take for you to forgive me for all of this, but I swear I will do whatever it takes to earn-”

*CRASH!* Cassie nearly doubled over as panic kicked in. Stone reflexively put himself between her and whatever that was, moving her out of the doorway and back into the bedroom.

“Stay here.” Stone reached into the closet and pulled out a hunting rifle. “Let’s hope this thing still fires.” He crept out into the main room, gun at the ready. See what made the noise, a bowl on the table was knocked over, but by what? Another step and he had his answer: a rock with a note tied to it. And given the shatter pattern of the ceramics, it had to have come from…the front door?

“Hey, Cassie, it’s ok.” He set down the rifle and unfurled the note. They were needed back in the annex. He turns and Cassie is coming up behind him.

“Wh-what was it?”

“It’s Baird. She threw a note through the back door to us. Wait, how did she know where we were?”

“Um… I might have left one of the St. Francis nails with Eve so she could follow us on my leyline map.”

“Remind me to never get on your bad side again.” He set the rock down, wrapped her up, and this time she held him back.

“I’m sorry I woke you. I’m sorry I dumped all of this on you-”

“No.” She looked up at him, slightly teary but smiling. “This is why I came with you. You needed to get that out.” She reached up, those infuriating lips grazed his cheek, and everything in him from the chest down liquefied. He wasn’t even sure how he stayed standing. “Thank you for trusting me with this.”

He locked eyes with her, felt her sweet breath on his face, and …. The cabin front door came swinging open in a flash of light. The silhouette was hard to make out, but the swagger certainly wasn’t as Ezekiel jones came waltzing through the door.

“So, you kids get things worked out?” Stone shifted Cassie behind him as he faced Ezekiel.

“Jones, I’m just tired enough that the urge to punch you is nearly overwhelming.”

“Whatever. Come on, we got a live one.”

“Ok, um, yeah, we’ll go get dressed and be right there.” The flailing, nervous Cassandra was back, and Jacob watched as she all but ran to her room, the door shutting behind her. Jacob turned back to Ezekiel, wondering what it would feel like to knock him flat.

“Clearly I have the worst timing ever, but you kids can pick this back up later. Because seriously, we’ve got vampires.” Ezekiel trotted back through the door, Barid looking on from the other side. Jacob stood there a moment before his head caught up with reality.

“Wait, VAMPIRES?!”

~~~~~

END CHAPTER 1/2


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